Dinotopia®: The Creation Of A World
 
    How do you create a “touchable” world that no one has ever seen, with
 characters from another time and creatures that have been extinct for millions  of years?
        “With a lot of research and a little help from your friends,” says
James  Gurney, author of Dinotopia®  and artist of the Dinotopia collection
prints  and posters. In Dinotopia, Gurney has created a new world down to the last  detail. This society is complete with its own alphabet—a variety of
carefully  placed dinosaur footprints corresponding to each letter of of the arabic  alphabet, language—a combination of the many languages the inhabitants have  brought along with them, means of transportation—a prehistoric bird called the  Skybax, with a human pilot, and  entertainment—from celebratory parades to  colorful festivals.
        Everything came from Gurney’s study, research, and fertile mind. He
calls his Dinotopia illustrations “imaginative realism.” Each painting was created in  much the same way that a director creates a movie. Gurney built models, set  the lighting, designed the costumes, and cast the characters. As a matter of  fact, many of the book’s characters are based on Gurney family and friends  posing in exotic costumes. Other helpers included scientists,
archaeologists,  and experts from many major establishments, including The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
        Gurney’s fascination with lost worlds was inspired partly by his
 grandfather’s copies of National Geographic, which showed him all kinds of
 incredible, exotic, but real places. Dinosaurs figured in those magazines
as  well. “They attracted me because they were real,” Gurney says. “I have
always  felt that dinosaurs were the most beautiful creatures on earth. Like
people,  they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. If we were to meet them in
 Dinotopia, we’d also discover that each has a different personality.”